Breakdown of Группа пассажиров ждёт поезд.
поезд
train
ждать
to wait (imperfective)
пассажир
passenger
группа
group
Questions & Answers about Группа пассажиров ждёт поезд.
Why is the ending -ов used on пассажиров?
The word пассажир (passenger) is a masculine noun ending in a hard consonant (-р). To say "of passengers" (genitive plural), we add -ов. This is the standard genitive plural ending for most masculine nouns ending in a consonant.
Since there are multiple passengers, why is the verb ждёт in the singular form instead of the plural ждут?
The grammatical subject of the sentence is группа (a group), which is a singular noun. Even though the group is made up of many people, the verb must match the singular subject группа.
I learned that the verb ждать takes the genitive case. Why is поезд not in the genitive case here?
The verb ждать can take either the genitive or the accusative. You use the accusative case for specific, inanimate objects that you definitely know are coming, like a specific scheduled train. Since поезд is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its dictionary form.
Why does the verb ждёт look so different from its dictionary form ждать?